Critique appreciated

This type of photography is not my thing typically but I am enjoying the exploration of it.

Not sure why but this shot seems to do something for me. I would appreciate any critiques or opinions of what you think, how could it be better, etc, etc. If you don't like it, please tell me why (other than you don't like pictures of doors :wink: ).

Being extremely fond of St. Augustine I like this shot. Its funny that just today I took my camera to church to get a pic of the stained glass.

This is not my area of expertise, in fact I don't think I have any expertise in photography other than I take pics of what makes me feel good or I enjoy.

That being said the simplicty of this shot and the antiquity of the door speak volumes to me. The only thing I would change would be the consistancy of the red, which you had no control over. It looks as if the door was touched up and the reds are not consistant.

Other than that I love it.

Thanks for sharing. Were was this in St. Augustine. I recall a church near the Alligator Farm that had a similar door.

Kevin, I just love it. I love the color combinations....The red door, the orange window and the black metal workings. For someone whose work to date (from what I've seen of late) seems to be birdies, this is very artistic. I bet it would look great printed. Thanks so much for sharing, I really enjoyed this shot.

This is a great shot. I too, don't usually shoot doorways in this manner, but i was in Puerto Rico recently and there was this old wrought iron doorway to this apartment complex and I had to shoot it. I never ended up getting results anywhere as satisfying as what you have here. If I had one critique, it would be about the border. I'm not sure the white is the right thing for this image. I could be wrong, and it is, of course, a matter of opinion. The image is fantastic, I'm just a little bit on the fence about the border.

That being said the simplicty of this shot and the antiquity of the door speak volumes to me. The only thing I would change would be the consistancy of the red, which you had no control over. It looks as if the door was touched up and the reds are not consistant.

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Thanks, Patrick, for taking the time to comment. With the exception of a slight curves adjustment and some USM, the photo is as shot. I didn't really pay attention to the door, just walking by, took a shot, then moved on. From looking at the picture, the top and top left are in shadow, the inconsistency you're seeing is either from wetness (it had just finished raining) or a paint touch up job. I'm kind of partial to the inconsistency but can see where it might be a distraction.

Kevin, I just love it. I love the color combinations....The red door, the orange window and the black metal workings. For someone whose work to date (from what I've seen of late) seems to be birdies, this is very artistic. I bet it would look great printed. Thanks so much for sharing, I really enjoyed this shot.

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Hi Leigh. Thanks for your comments! Yes, just like you, it was the colors that drew me in. The red just seemed to be so intense and the yellow glass from the window glowed. It really was quite the sight.

I supposed there's truth to your statement about my posting pattern. It's these type of artsy shots that I really enjoy and hope to improve upon. I come from a very artistic family so I like "creating". The birdies has been fun and is very contagious. I feel I've made major advancements in skill where that's concerned, with much thanks going to Flew who helped with the birds in flight. Portraits is what I'll make $ doing, but this type of shot is one I hope to master and maybe one day with luck, sell as fine art prints.

This is a great shot. I too, don't usually shoot doorways in this manner, but i was in Puerto Rico recently and there was this old wrought iron doorway to this apartment complex and I had to shoot it. I never ended up getting results anywhere as satisfying as what you have here. If I had one critique, it would be about the border. I'm not sure the white is the right thing for this image. I could be wrong, and it is, of course, a matter of opinion. The image is fantastic, I'm just a little bit on the fence about the border.

great shot,

Dave

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Hi Dave. I appreciate you taking time to offer your insight. I'm on the fence about the border as well. When my brother, who is an accomplished artist, taught me to watercolor, he always said use a white border/black frame to display your work. I guess I just did that out of habit but also thought it contrasted but didn't detract from the center of interest. I'd be interested to here suggestions for alternate border colors.

I usually use the white border/black frame rule as well. I was thinking about this after I posted my comment, and I think figured out what bothers me about the white border. The door has this fantastic, black, buckle hinge on it. And the way you've framed the shot, the hinge is coming right off of the border. With a white border and the black buckle, it just kind of leaves buckle, and thus perceptually (at least to me) the whole door kinding hanging in space. I think a darker border, black or near black, would anchor the whole image a little better. I hope you don't mind, but I downloaded your image and played with it a little in photoshop. I selected the white portion of your border with the magic wand tool and added the title in the selection and inverted it so the inner border was now black, but the title was now white. I really liked the way it made the door seem more substantial. I didn't post the manipulated image here, because to do so I would have to post your image to my Pbase site and I didn't feel comfortable posting someone elses work. Try out the inversion and see what you think. I like it with the black border, but as I said before, it's just a matter of opinion.

I posted a reply to you Dave but I'm having computer issues and I guess it didn't "take".

Anyway, I tried what you suggested and it certainly is a dramatic difference with a black border. It makes the colors pop. Now I just don't think I like the black frame. Have to play around with that.

I used the eyedropper and grabbed both the brighter red from the door and the orange from the window for the text. It looked neat too.

As for the buckle, I went back to look at the other photos I took and they're all the same. I may try to add some width to the photo and clone in some door to create a border to the left of the hinge. At least until I can get back there to reshoot the door.

These are the types of things I was hoping to hear. Thanks for taking the time to provide your input. (btw...my wife liked the black border with the black frame. When I showed her the comparison there was no hesitation)

Hi Steve. Oddly, for me, the whole door didn't do much. I will be going back there to reshoot this door so I can leave a margin on the left. Maybe I'll grab one of the whole door too. For me, it was just this section of the door that was magical!

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